While the San Francisco 49ers have officially been eliminated from the playoffs and have nothing left to play for but pride and an ability to play spoiler to the Detroit Lions, Brock Purdy has one silver lining left heading into the final game of the 2024 NFL calendar year: Monday Night Football.
That’s right, with two games left to play ahead of an early offseason filled with questions about the team’s future, Purdy isn’t taking this last stretch for granted. Why? Well, because as a kid, he grew up loving Monday Night Football and wants to make another memory alongside his teammates, as he explained to reporters during his Week 17 media session.
“Growing up you just hear the chime and stuff. The school week has started and you sit down and watch the primetime game, Monday Night. So I was just telling all the guys our season, it’s been tough and just the way, how it’s gone, but we’ve got two games left. We’ve got a Monday Night game in front of everybody to go out and live a childhood dream,” Purdy told reporters.
“We’re all in our twenties and thirties, playing football for our job. So let’s go out there, and we’ve got such a great opportunity in front of us to go and enjoy this game and compete and this is what we do for our job so let’s enjoy it together. And so, the little kid in me is always pumped for these kind of games and stuff. I’ll never take it for granted. More than anything, I just want Levi’s to get rolling and rocking and I want to do my part in helping it get to that point. That’s how I’m looking at this game and I know all my teammates are too. So we’re excited for it.”
Now granted, this isn’t Purdy’s first rodeo on Monday Night Football, as the pride of Iowa State has a 2-2 record since 2022 with the 49ers, according to Statmuse, including wins over the Arizona Cardinals – which he didn’t play in – and the New York Jets, but with losses to the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens in 2023.
Still, for a young player still on his rookie-scale contract, embracing this opportunity with a growth mentality is certainly the right way to take things moving forward, as unlike certain other teammates, Purdy isn’t going to quit on his team. While the playoffs may be out of reach and his dreams of another Super Bowl appearance will have to wait at least one more year, his teammates will surely remember this moment when that day comes, as a true leader sticks with their guys through thick and thin.
